PROCESS: continued

4) Prepare for callers. Get your Ideal Animal Home notes and add to it a list of questions you will ask and also note expected answers as well. In addition to these notes, jot down “red flag” comments that callers might make; in other words do anything it takes to alert yourself while you are talking to the person to “wrongo” statements. You want to eliminate these people quickly, right then, during that first call. Let me repeat that; eliminate them right then, quickly, during the call; take NO prisoners. The quicker you cut them off, the less investment of emotions/stress you have in this person, and the more available time you have for the “true” companion of this animal. Do not fall into the trap of trying to convert a bad candidate into a good one. This is not your job; it is THEIR job to be a good candidate in the first place. Let them spend a few more years learning how to do that. It is your job to wait for the “true” companion of this animal to call you.

The following are examples based on actual animal adoption conversations. They run the gamut from obvious to subtle. Learn to hear the subtle statements:

Caller: “Hi, I’m calling about the rabbit.”
You: “Yes, thanks for calling. What questions can I answer for you?”
Caller: “Can you tell me how old it is?”
You: “We think he’s about 1 – 2 years old.”
Caller: “Oh…I wanted a baby.”
You: “Why is that?”
Caller: “Well, since it’s going to be a birthday gift for my daughter.”
You: “Oh, well that’s not possible with this bunny anyway. You should never give any animal as a gift as a matter of fact. Wait until after the birthday, when the excitement has worn off, then the animal has the benefit of everyone’s full attention…give me a call afterward if you are still interested. Thanks for calling.”
Hang up – don’t press

Caller: “Hi, I’m calling about the rabbit.”
You: “Thanks for calling. What questions can I answer for you?”
Caller: “What color is he?”
You: “He is brown with a little white here and there…why do you ask?”
Caller: “Oh Good! I wanted a brown rabbit…my room is painted in a chocolate color.”
You: “Oh I’m sorry, my husband just reminded me he is solid black…I was thinking of my sister’s rabbit. Thanks for calling anyway.”
Lost cause: Hang-up right then and there.

Caller: “You still got the rabbit?”
You: “Yes I do.”
Caller: “What’s your address?”
You: “Wouldn’t you like to ask me some questions about him first?”
Caller: “Well, I’m just calling for my son so I can tell him where to come and see it.”
You: “Oh, how old is your son?”
Caller: “Oh, he’s grown…he doesn’t live with me.”
You: “Oh, well could you have your son call me directly then? I would prefer to speak directly to the person interested…thanks for calling.”
Hang up – don’t press

Caller: “Hi, I’m calling about the rabbit.”
You: “Thanks for calling. What questions can I answer for you?”
Caller: “Is he friendly?”
You: “Yes, he’s very friendly?”
Caller: “How about with children, does he like children?”
You: “Yes, my niece and nephew have been over many times to play with him…they enjoyed each other very much…How old are your children?”
Caller: “I have a son, 8.”
You: “How about other animals?”
Caller; “No, no other animals…I had many animals when I was a kid though…so did my husband. It was a great learning experience.”
You: “Oh? What kinds of pets did you have?”
Caller: “We had all kinds…we both grew up on farms.”
You: “Did you have pets though…you know…in the house?”
Caller: “No, they all lived outside…the dogs, the cats…all outside.”
You: “So it’s OK now for you to have an animal inside the house?”
Caller: “Well, that’s why we want a rabbit. He’ll be in a cage, you know, and in my son’s room…”
You: “In your son’s room…you mean all the time?”
Caller: “Well yeah…that’s how he’s going learn responsibility. He’s at that age now where it’s time for him to learn responsibility.”
You: “What’s going to happen when he ‘forgets’ to feed the bunny or clean the cage?”
Caller: “He’s got a chore list on the wall of his room that he has to check off every day…he’s just going to add that to the list.”
You: “How will you know for sure that those things are being done every day if it’s in his room…anyway he can just make check marks without actually doing the chores.”
Caller: “Oh, I go into his room every once in awhile to make sure the chores are actually being done.”
You: “And if you find that he hasn’t done them…?”
Caller: “He gets punished of course! He gets punished until he does them…that’s all.”
You: “I’m sorry; I don’t think this situation will work out with this bunny. We are looking for a home for him where he will be living in the most active room of the house and all family members can participate in his care as well as the enjoyment of his company. Thanks anyway for calling.”
Lost cause: Hang-up right then and there.

Caller: “Hi, I’m calling about the rabbit.”
You: “What questions can I answer for you?”
Caller: “Is he friendly?”
You: “Yes, he’s very friendly?”
Caller: “Can you tell me how old it is?”
You: “We think he’s about 1 – 2 years old.”
Caller: “Oh, then he’ll live for a long time yet…is he cute?”
You: “Yes he is as a matter of fact.”
Caller: “That’s great! He sounds perfect! I love him already!”
You: “You haven’t even seen him yet!”
Caller: “I don’t care. I know he’ll be adorable.”
You: “Do you mind if we talk a little more about it?”
Caller: “No…go ahead.”
You: “Have you had animals before?”
Caller: “Oh yeah…lots.”
You: “Can you tell me about that?”
Caller: “When I lived at home we had dogs, cats, birds, guinea pigs, rabbits….even a snake!”
You: “Did you take care of all these yourself?”
Caller: “Sometimes…also my brother did sometimes, and my sister too. Mostly my mom took care of them.”
You: “So were any of these pets ‘just yours’ only.”
Caller: “They were all of ours…really.”
You: “So can you tell me what happened to them…?”
Caller: “Oh yeah, well Sparky…he had cancer I don’t know what kind it was, but my mom took really good care of him. We still have Lulu…I got her for my birthday 4 years ago, and Punky…he became a companion for Lulu since she didn’t have anyone left to play with”
You: “I see. So where are you living now?”
Caller: “I just moved to this animal-friendly apt. over here by ASU. It’s a totally nice place…everybody has pets here! Everybody! Oh…by the way, I have the landlord’s phone # right here so you can call and check their policy about animals if you want. I’ve already given him the deposit and everything. I am sooooo ready for this!”
You: “OK…great…you can hold on to that and give it to me in a minute…so you’re a college student?”
Caller: “Yeah, I’m going to start my sophomore year in the fall. So I’ll have this whole summer to bond with my new little baby.
You: “So you don’t have a job then?”
Caller: “No, I do have a job. I work at the bookstore on campus. It’s really great….I can just walk over to my job from class. I don’t have to waste gas. I don’t even have to come home to change or anything. So when can I come to see the bunny…does he have a name yet? What’s your address?”
You: “That’s great about the job. So are you a part-time student then…?”
Caller: “Oh no…I have to maintain full-time status to get my scholarship every semester. And a B average too….or I don’t get it. See, so I have enough money to buy the little guy his food and everything.”
You: “Wow, you sound like you are pretty busy!”
Caller: “I know. Sometimes I don’t get home until like midnight. That’s why like last year when I had Punky here I had to take him to my mom’s because he got sick. I don’t know what was wrong with him. I didn’t have time to take him to the doctor’s or anything. My mom said it was OK since Lulu needed a companion anyway…”
You: “Ok, I’ve heard everything I need to make a decision. I thank you very much for calling, but it doesn’t sound like you are ready to take on the responsibility of caring for an animal yet.”
Caller: “What do you mean? I would love him like my very own baby.”
You: “I don’t doubt that. But he needs more attention than you are able to give right now. After you start back up at school, you won't even have time on the weekends for a pet. Plus, you need to learn how to successfully stop relying on your mom to bail you out concerning your pets…then you might be really ready. Perhaps when you are finished with school you’ll be ready. Again, thanks anyway. Bye now.”

The more that you get the caller to say to you, the more you learn about what's really going on in their lives. It may seem hard, but even when you have a long conversation and really get to know the person, you still have to remind yourself that you are doing this for the benefit of this animal you have under your care who is depending on you completely for placement in a good home. The objective here is not just a good home, but a compatible match. Also, you are looking for the home that will be the last one on the list for this animal. You want this home to last as long as the natural lifetime of this pet. It is probably a truism that you will be talking to a lot of people who are wrong for this animal, before you get a trickle of an idea that you might have the right one in the next call:

Caller: “Hi, I’m calling about the rabbit.”
You: “Yes, thanks for calling. What questions can I answer for you?”
Caller: “Is he really friendly?”
You: “Yes, he’s very friendly?”
Caller: “How about with children, does he like children?”
You: “Yes, my niece and nephew have been over many times to play with him…they enjoyed each other very much. How old are your children?”
Caller: “I have a boy 8, and a girl 10.”
You: “What a coincidence! My niece and nephew are the exact same ages!”
Caller: “Do have a cage for him that I can buy with him?”
You: “Yes, we can include his cage for a reasonable amount…do you want all the dishes and stuff too…or do you have all that stuff already?”
Caller: “Oh yes, if that would be possible?”
You: “Have you ever had a rabbit before”?
Caller: “We had one last year…he died…so we waited awhile to make sure we
wanted another one.”
You: “What did he die of?”
Caller: “One of our other dogs got a hold of him…we just didn’t get to them in time. It was so sad. It was our fault because we weren’t keeping him in a cage. He was just loose around the house. We thought he would like it better that way. So we learned our lesson. As long as we have a dog we won’t be doing that again.”
You: “Well that’s good, but where will you be keeping the cage?”
Caller: “We’ll probably keep it up high on a counter or a desk, most likely in a room where we all can keep an eye on him too.”
You: “Do you have any other animals?”
Caller: “No just one dog now. The one who did that before is deceased.”
You: “Okay, let’s talk more...”

Don't dismiss a caller because of a mistake if it seems that they learned from it. We've all been there, right? However, you may still get a better candidate calling:

Caller: “Do you still have the bunny?”
You: “Yes. Can I answer some questions about him for you?”
Caller: “Well, we have been reading a lot of material about rabbits, and a few other animals too. But we think that a bunny would be the perfect pet for us. But we’re undecided if we should get a boy or a girl. What do you think?”
You: “Well it’s always a matter of personal choice. Some people like girls best…some boys. I think that if you have a good connection with the animal it shouldn’t matter. Have you had any pets before now?”
Caller: “No this will be our first as a family. Our girls are older now; 10 and 12. They have learned a lot of responsibility already. But we have also taken them to lots of animal-related events, you know…to see how they interact with them. Also, my brother in Phoenix always has all kinds of pets…well we always did as kids too, and the girls have helped pet sit them when they go on trips. They have done very well with that. Of course if they needed us to help with that…they could always count on us to help.”
You: “So are your daughters going to be the only ones taking care of the pet?”
Caller: “Oh no, no, no…we’ll all participate. This is a family endeavor. If one of us didn’t want to participate…we wouldn’t be getting one at all.”
You: “So what sort of place do you live in?”
Caller: “We live in a 3-bedroom house…that we own. We’ve been here for about 5 years now.”
You: “Where would you keep the rabbit?”
Caller: “If you’ve got a spare cage and stuff we’d be glad to buy that off of you. Or if not we’ll get a cage and everything he needs beforehand. Oh…do you mean in the house?”
You: “Yes.”
Caller: “Ok, we were thinking of the kitchen area or the family room. Somewhere where we can see him all the time, and he can see us.”
You: “Ok…this sounds good. When would you like to come and see him? Can you come with the whole family?”

Either of these last two callers could be the best home for the bunny in question. This is not a "first come, first serve" situation however. They still have other tests they must pass before you make your decision. They'll first make a visit to you, then you'll make a visit to them. We'll talk more about this in the next few posts.

What's The Recession Doing for the Animals?

Leaving them behind apparently. Do to several foreclosures and bankruptcy cases that have spread through the United States, several pet owners have abandoned or dropped off their animals because they did not know what to do with them, or could not afford to pay the shelter fee for the Humane Society or other rescues.

Because of this real estate agents and and neighbors have been overwhelmed with need to find out where to bring these abandoned animals. Most shelters are now full and aren't accepting anymore. The pound can only do so much (or nothing at all in some cases, but euthanize them).

Today when perusing craigslist' volunteer section I spotted a link to a rescue organization that is now recruiting for animals that have been left behind in this recession. It is called the Lost Our Home Pet Foundation, a nonprofit group of real estate professionals who rescue pets left behind due to foreclosures or other financial hardship. Lost Our Home offers a hotline for home owners, or concerned neighbors to call when they need solutions for helping abandoned animals. They will work with you to create a solution that works for you and the animal. They can also TEMPORARILY foster your pet until you have gained another place to live and can responsibly take care of your pet.

* Click here http://lostourhome.org/?page_id=209 for Furry
Friends Food Bank if you feel that you need financial assistance if
caring for your pet but don't want to give it away.


If you are interested in being a foster parent, volunteer, transporter, or to give donations they also have links for those options as well.

When facing eviction or foreclosure please don't abandon your pet. Contact the Lost Our Home Pet Foundation, http://lostourhome.org/

The Process

The following is out of my Rescue Guide from the chapter entitled Process, which follows the Preparation chapter posted previously:

1) Now that you know everything about your animal you can determine what its ideal home is. If you cannot determine an ideal home; you are not yet prepared. Do not proceed until you are confident in this knowledge. When you are ready, write down the Ideal Home for this animal. Commit it to memory.

2) Write an ad. Ideally your ad will generate calls from people who have interest, but would need to ask you questions. In other words; you don’t want to say too much in your ad. You want to say what the animal is, the sex, and the price. But above all you want to state that the candidate will be scrutinized. The whole point of this ad is to discourage any riff-raff from calling you, but let through true candidates. You don’t have time to waste on anyone who is not a potential candidate. Let me repeat: You don’t have time to waste on anyone who is not a potential candidate. You and your animal will suffer in this case.

Example ad (bold AND capitalize “approved home”):

To APPROVED HOME only: male bunny, neutered, $75, 555-555-5555


In this example you are stating right up front that you will be scrutinizing the candidates. You are telling breeders “don’t call here.” You are also saying “no freebies here.” Also keep in mind you must use a price that is competitive with like rescues regardless as to what the same animals “go for” at the local pet store/breeder: Remember, you want to attract attention from someone who is interested in adoption, not in “purchasing merchandise.” Also, most rescues determine their prices, by how much they have invested in the animals under their care, such as for neutering, vaccines, vet checks and so on. You have made these same investments, and are justified in asking similar amounts as they are. Last but not least; this short little ad is cheap.

3) Place the ad. Use commonly read newspapers in your area; it's of no use wasting your money on ads that will be read by people umpteen miles away…most are not willing to drive that far. However, those few people who are willing to drive that far will find your ad on the Internet. So do make sure that wherever you place the ad will also give you Internet exposure. Try also to find ad deals like the,“2 lines 4 day special” kind. Use a deal like this to run the ad Thursday through Sunday. Do not advertise in Penny saver type papers; those readers are looking for “free” animal ads. Do use Craigslist, but be sure to give no indication that this animal is free. If you haven't figured it out yet; Free To Good Home ads are no way to actually get a good home for this animal.

Note: Do not place your ad around any important holidays. Do not place your ad just before Halloween. Most sophisticated rescues know that cats, especially black cats are targeted by weirdos (I will not define this word for any one's sake...you know who you are) during this holiday. Do not place your ad just before Easter…especially if you have any kind of caged animals to adopt out. Especially do not place your ad before Christmas. Allow at least one month before in this case, and one month after. If however, a potential candidate contacts you and the intent is to give a pet as any other sort of gift, such as for a birthday, educate this individual as to why it's discouraged to give animals as gifts, and invite them to contact you at some future date.


My next post will continue with this same chapter.

Why do we have so many Rescues?

I'm sure at some point someone from a much younger generation, or even a depression-era person has asked this question. Perhaps one day the realization of the sheer numbers of available rescues in any given metropolitan region struck this person as huge.

Everyone else besides this eclectic group member who are in some way involved with rescue knows we have a serious overpopulation problem with unwanted animals in this country. And we know we have had this problem for decades upon decades now.

I thought as many did 20 or so years ago that education would stop the problem. Instead the problem has grown phenomenally in the oh-so-wrong direction. Twenty years ago I did research on how many unwanted animals were put to death in this country. The figure was at about 90,000 per year. Today, according to the Humane Society of the United States the figure stands at about 3 to 4 million. That's per year.

I'm sure many will agree that it is a problem of out-of-control breeding. We've got Greyhound breeding for the dog track, and look at where those "surplus" dogs end up; either they are "disappeared" as my Dad used to say when he worked at an auto wrecking yard taking wrecked cars apart as a kid. Or a few lucky ones end up in a Greyhound rescue. The same is true in the horse industry. Except they often end up at meat-auctions as well.

We've got people buying "pure-bred" dogs and cats at pet stores...that are in existence due to the hard-at-work "Heartland" petmills; or from road-side displayed signs; or from backyard breeders. If you walk into an animal shelter, you'll find 30% there are purebred. That's out of 6 million taken in every year in nationwide shelters according to the HSUS.

We've also got people breeding and "domesticating" birds and rodents for "colors." Now those same animals are so inbred they can barely make it through couple of years of life without dying from some nasty disease. I've seen it in pet rats, mice and hamsters. Also, years ago Parakeets would normally live to be 12 years of age, and Cockatiels would live to be 18. Today you'd consider yourself lucky if one you had made it to 5 years of age. Also many of today's purebred dogs and cats have got cancer, or tumors, major organ failure, blindness, deafness, birth-defects, or a myriad of other diseases plaguing them at an overwhelming rate.

And what's point of all this? Money. Plain and simple. To some the end result of dollars disguised as self-importance is their life's goal, and the fact that that was achieved by sacrificing countless animals' lives does not matter one bit.

Yes, I've heard all the reasonable arguments: "We have to preserve the breeds," or; "We have to keep the breed pure," or; "I'm not inbreeding...I'm breeding for Type." And on, and on, and on. I say to all of them: Read Darwin; if you are disallowing Natural Selection, which "Is the process by which favorable heritable traits become more common in successive generations of a population of reproducing organisms, and unfavorable heritable traits become less common, due to differential reproduction of genotypes," then you are inbreeding!

Now we've even got the more enterprising breeders who figured out that some out-crossing results in a more viable animal...not to mention a more inflated price tag. Think: Labra-doodles, Cock-a-poos, Puggles, Terry-poos, Chi-weinees....etc. But it's a little too late isn't it? We can find copious amounts of those "breeds" in Rescues too.

Basically as a civilized society we just can't go on like this. Many when considering the definition of a civilized society immediately think of the criminal element in their community. But I ask you is not a person who keeps a female animal in a cage for a decade breeding it over and over every 6 months during that time until it dies a criminal? Is not a person who produces purebred animals knowing each one comes with a laundry list of major health problems, then sells them for $1000 each to people who with very little doubt will have to spend thousands more in Vet bills on those animals a criminal? Is not this same person who while engaging in his/her "enterprise" denies basic needs such as food, water, and health-checks to these animals a criminal? After all no one can deny that anti-cruelty laws exist, and are enforceable by such standards, not to mention violation of anti-fraud laws.

So what is the answer then? We have the answer here to the question at the top of this post I think, but do we have the answer to the big question, the one that asks how do we stop this problem?

We can perhaps pass legislation that addresses rampant breeding of unnecessary animals. Or pass laws that steer people into looking first in the burgeoning population of homeless animals languishing currently in rescues and shelters for that first doggy for Johnny or Susie rather than to a breeder. Or it could be a tax-burdened law...you know...breed animals...pay hefty taxes. Kinda like the vice-taxes we have now. After all every tax-paying American Citizen is already burdened with extra taxes to treat the symptoms of this problem. Or how about a government rebate? The slogan could be: Adopt A Pet - Get A Check. Or instead will we just let the situation get so bad that the very act of breeding animals will be a criminal offense? Our jails and prisons are already overcrowded though aren't they?

Of course when discussing passing legislation, one must always consider that there is a risk that such laws will in the end be designed to self-serve the politicians who enacted them. Couldn't we instead figure this out on our own? However, I'll be the first to admit, no one has The Answer. Though it pains me to do so. I, a strong advocate of education admitting it didn't work.

Help me out here folks. Throw me a bone....pun not intended.

Live In A Rural Area?

If you live in rural Arizona chances are you've run into a fantastic array of wild animals living on or around your property. Maybe you've seen some wild animals that have been sick or injured. Maybe you wanted to help but didn't know how.

Rescuing wild animals is a whole other ball game compared to rescuing domestic animals. Even rescuing wild rabbits can be difficult.

I've found some great guidelines in this website: http://www.cuhumane.org/topics/wildlife.html

They can definitely help you if you want to rehabilitate a wild animal every now and again.

For someone more ambitious who's interested in starting a whole wildlife rescue I found this great online course: http://www.universalclass.com/i/crn/30365.htm

$25 is the basic course with no certificate and $50 gets you a certificate and 3 Continuing Education Units (CEU).

Need someplace to take a wild animal? Check out the Tucson Wildlife Center: http://tucsonwildlife.com/index.html

Animal CPR Classes

Finding yourself in an emergency situation with an animal can be daunting if you're not properly equipped with the skills to perform CPR.

Classes in Arizona are offered by the The Humane Society of Southern Arizona and the American Red Cross Southern Arizona Chapter. These classes will cover topics such as:

● Recognize an emergency.
● Determine what information to give the veterinarian.
● Administer animal cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
● Identify poisons and other dangers to pets.
● Safely handle injured animals.
● Receive tips for preventing animal emergencies.

All for $25.

To register, or for information on the classes, please contact
Pennie Liebig at 520.881.7406

A Request for the Arizona, East Valley area

Play all day with Pets, Volunteer at our adoption events!


We are looking for volunteers for our Saturday or Sunday Petsmart Adoptions Events. As a volunteer you would spend the day (10 a.m. – 4 p.m.) at Petsmart talking to people about our pets we have for adoption, playing with the pets and letting customers play with them too. It is a great way to spend the day playing with pets, talking to people and hanging out with a friend, significant other or another volunteer all while helping to find permanent loving homes for our pets. We need 2 volunteers per day so you can volunteer with someone you know or meet someone new.


We are also looking for transporters who can bring the pets to Petsmart and back. Someone with a truck that can bring 3 – 4 dogs in crates is ideal, but even a car that can fit 1 – 2 crates would be great too.


For more info please contact Jodi Polanski at 480-688-7899 or Jodi@LostOurHome.org

www.LostOurHome.org


Editor's note: This is rescue group formed by Real Estate Professionals in the Maricopa County area. If you click on the title to this post it will take you to their website. There you'll find help to aid you with your pets in your difficult time if you are about to lose your home. Check it out!

Continuation: Assessing your Adoptee

The following is out of the Preparation section of my Rescue Guide:

1) Learn about your animal:

Find information on the species/animal needing rescuing. Ideally you want to educate yourself with knowledge on the subject of this animal on a higher level than what the average person would know.

Areas of Focus:
· How to determine the sex
· How to determine the age
· Known/Common illnesses
· Average Lifespan (in captivity if an exotic animal)
· Ideal food (ask people who are nutrition experts of this animal...it likely will not necessarily be a Vet nor a food manufacturer)
· What are ideal living/sleeping environments (temperature-light, etc.)?
· What are this animal’s predators or common causes of premature death?
· What other types/sizes of animals can co-habitate with this animal?
· What kinds of people are good companions for this animal?
· In what kinds of dwellings would these people be living?

Other Information Resources:
· Other Rescue Organizations of this type of Animal, i.e.; Breed Rescues (see link to left)
· The Internet
· The Library
· New/Used book stores
· Breeders (be careful here – listen for old-wives-tales & panic-mode theories, and some also may be subjective and self-serving)
· Breed Associations or Show clubs (same as above)

2) Set up your animal in its ideal living conditions within your means as quickly as possible.

3) Prepare the animal. These are subject to the animal’s condition at the time of rescue.

Ideally the animal should be in good physical condition for the following actions:

Areas of Focus:
· Spay or Neuter the animal (if applicable).
· Test for common incurables (do these ASAP, especially if
disease is suspected).
· Inoculate for common illnesses if tests are negative (regardless if
you “believe” in vaccines or not, what must be considered is where the animal will end up at the end of this process. If you decide to keep it yourself then you can discontinue vaccines at your discretion).

If you need clarification on any of the above points feel free to ask.

How are you assessing your adoptees?

When I had my own rescue in CA years ago, I would take whatever time was needed to assess the animals in my care to determine the best kinds of homes they would thrive in. I had no special technological skills to do this, however it got done. Sometimes it would take over a year to determine a certain animal's outcome. That didn't matter however, as I figured that the better I hit the nail on the head, the better the chances the newly placed animal would remain in that chosen home for the remainder of its natural life.

In fact only one dog came back during those 16 years. It was because I neglected to do an initial home visit to determine if the home was suitable, not because of a mistaken assessment. The home was not suitable, and the Adopter had lied to me regarding that. Lesson learned.....I never let that happen again. But that's another post for another day.

All I did was focus on the animal during normal routines and experiences throughout the day. Basically I let nature take its course. Barring actual fighting, for when it did occur I naturally nipped it in the bud right off. In the meanwhile I watched and learned, and noted the patterns developing.

For example; we had a female Scotty named Beatrice who tormented her own adult daughter relentlessly. When she wasn't doing that she was peeing or pooping in the middle of our bed. She was clearly sending, "I'm unhappy," messages to us as well as fighting for her spot in the world with her daughter. At about the age of 5 years she was adopted by a single mature woman who had a great deal of experience with Scotties, and had no other animals or humans living with her. This dog had not one behavior problem with this lady from day one, and lived to be 16 years old under her care.

We also had a female Chihuahua named Lucy. We had estimated her age to be about 8 or 9 years. She was quite set in her ways. She had no behavior problems, but she was not thriving in our home. She wanted to just sit in your lap all day, or at least be right by you at all times when you sat down. As our house was busy all day at the time, and noisy as well, she was disturbed by all the activity, and could never relax. On top of that she didn't like children and was nippy with them.

One day a family brought their elderly mother who was wheelchair bound to see her. This lady had had a little dog who had since died about a year before of old age. I asked her if I could put Lucy in her lap. She was frail, but confident, and said, "Yes," in a strong voice. We all stood around and watched as Lucy looked up at her in her cautious way. The lady reached out very slowly, but not fearfully and began caressing Lucy's head and body. Lucy closed her eyes and bowed her head down, and I kid you not she was smiling. In the next instant Lucy was curled up in her lap as contented as she could be. Tears were rolling down my face. I knew it was a perfect match.

Do you have stories to share? Please do...someone might need to hear about it. They might be stuck in finding that perfect home for one of their charges.

Bird or turtle/tortoise connection

Hello everyone,

I have received some info from someone offering help with birds or turtles/tortoises if the need arises. Also, this person has pet supplies to offer if the need arises.

If you are wanting to connect with this person, please send me your info and I will forward it on. Thanks!

This is Luna

This is Luna; our latest rescued cat.

She came from Wild Horse Ranch Rescue. I know...this is a horse rescue, however, when the founder moved onto that property there were 62....count them 62 cats roaming about! She had lots of fun rounding them up, getting them sterilized, vaccinated, and what have you.

Luna was part of a litter born in 98' on the ranch that actually had only about half of it survive. She is a very strong kitty to have made it through the trials and tribulations of living outdoors on a ranch all these years. She's got a bit of a limp in the rear-end is all.

We brought her home in 2005 while I was working as a volunteer there. Those of you who appreciate "animal communication" would understand when I say that she came up to me one day and asked me for help. I went home and told my husband there's a kitty at the ranch asking me for help...can we? He said yes without any hesitation.

You see how furry she is? Well, while at the ranch they would periodically shave her down. When I met her she had massive bald spots all over her body due to a serious flea infestation, and malnutrition. Nowadays, we have loads of fun getting 3 or 4 of us together and either combing out knots, or clipping excess fur around her butt. Lately though, I can do it by myself. I bought a special stainless steel comb that gets those knots out pretty quick. She gets only a little annoyed. I guess she's gotton used to the routine.

Oh, the malnutrition? Gone. She's put on weight, and it's all muscle. She's thriving happily with daily servings of a little Orijen dry, and some meat-packed canned food, with a bit of organic whole milk here and there. She's got our male cat beat by 3 - 5 pounds. When he comes around her to do his tormenting antics she turns into Jackie Chan. Ka Poom! Body slammed in the wink of an eye. He doesn't know what hit him. He is finally getting what was coming to him. I guess she learned a thing or three living with a bunch of cats and horses on a ranch.

When I stopped my regular volunteer duties at the ranch in 06' the cat population was down to about 10 cats living there. However, I'm told it has been creeping up again. The latest number is at about 20 or so. It's hard to get an exact count.

Yes, they show up on their own, but people have been dumping them there too.

Anyway, there are current efforts going on now to build an outdoor atrium for them. That will at least keep them safe from the street.

If any of you are interested in learning more about the kitties from Kitty City at the ranch or the horses at Wild Horse Ranch Rescue, click on the link to your left, and that'll take you right to the barn!

Rescue operation

These are all good ideas left by the last poster. I have to especially agree with the home visits. This is the most important aspect of the work that many if not most rescue organizations leave out.

I think that the problems arise when there are a lot of volunteers running an organization, and there aren't enough in leadership positions who can figure out how to run things as if they were running a successful corporation. After all, that is what a non-profit is......a corporation.

I also understand that it is hard to turn away volunteer help when you need that help!

But, if the rescue considers that things would run smoothest by cutting out those who create or add to problems rather than help to do away with them, thus creating an environment that allows for more animal placements, it's easy to then see why turning down help from those who don't "help" is a better idea.

The other area where rescues find problems is in the emotional entanglements that the people involved find themselves in. Unfortunately rescue work is one of those complicated things that wouldn't exist if it weren't for the emotions of the people. It's a vicious cycle: People breed animals out of emotions, they buy animals out of emotions, and they rescue animals out of emotions.

On top of that other emotions that have nothing to do with the animals are also involved. For example, I noticed that rescue organizations attract many people who have something missing in their lives, and they are seeking some sort of acceptance from others regarding this. They turn to rescue work to get some kind of therapy out of it until they recover from what ever it is that is causing this problem for them. That's fine if that actually works for them. And I have seen that actually work for some. The problem comes in when the volunteer makes their problem a problem of the rescue. Of course this spills over into how they deal with the animals under their care, and to how they deal with the people who might adopt them. It becomes all about them rather than about the animals.

One or two people in leadership positions would see this going on and nip it in the bud before it starts to control the group.

Perhaps the organization could have one leader organize and lead the volunteers, and another could oversee the operations; i.e., the time management, the returning phone calls, the picture taking, etc.

Does anyone else have any good ideas regarding this?

Thanks for sharing your experience on how you got Charlie Long Dog! Obviously the convoluted way it happpened was meant to get you all together! And he is of course much happier now.

Also, keep up the good work in feeding him the best of foods. That goes a long way in preserving a long-lived, disease-free companionship with our animals.

If anyone wants tips or resources on how to find the best of foods to feed...just ask!

Room for Improvement : 10 Ways to be A Better Rescue

1. If your going to post pets up for adoption on a website like petfinder.com make sure you include a detailed description of the pet AND how someone should apply.

Why? Not everyone will go searching for hours on every single rescues page looking for what to do. Some will just decide it's easier to buy a dog at the mall! Yuck!

2. Take GOOD pictures. Seeing pets in good condition (not being held) and in several different ways and in good lighting makes a difference.

Why? I skipped all the posts that had no picture because I can't gauge the personality, size, color, or breed mix. I don't want to drive to New River, AZ just to look at a dog that I might not like. This explains why pound dogs don't get adopted because the pound doesn't normally take pictures or post descriptions. Also, black dogs need lots more attention in the picture dept. It's a well known fact that black dogs get adopted WAY less than other dogs. Tie a bright bandanna around the pet's neck and lead them outside and engage in a fun game to bring out their personality and snap away!

3. Yes, you posted on petfinder.com but I still need to go to your website. Is it easy to navigate? Can I find the email addresses quickly? Is the application in PDF or Word form? Does the site look professional (not fancy-professional)? Do you have success stories and policies that I can read?

Why? Petfinder.com is a stepping stone for you in adopting out a pet, not an ending point. A good pet owner will research the rescue. If the page doesn't look professional then your efforts will look a little faded and superficial or slapped together. I'm not saying spend hundreds of dollars on a fancy site, but make it easy to navigate with lots of pictures so we can get a feel for the people and the organizational skills of the rescue. There's nothing worse than an unorganized rescue.

4. Call/email people back!

Why? Not calling/emailing gives people the feeling that you didn't like their application and discourages them from adopting a pet. Also, it's unprofessional. A day or so of silence is ok, but throw us a bone and let us know that you at least RECEIVED the application so we don't keep sending it to you, thinking you never got it, or calling you every other day. If you need to hire someone for just that reason then do so!

5. Fostering animals is a great way to keep expenses down, but it also leaves room for foster parents to think they "can manage" with 10 animals because they've become so attached. Limit the number of animals per foster parent and make sure the foster parent know what they are getting into BEFORE they decide to foster. It's all well and good until someone really is interested in adopting them and they have to leave.

Why? Charlie was in a house with THIRTY dogs. He is a very shy animal. The foster mom lived in an HOA neighborhood with a three dog limit so Charlie NEVER got walked. He didn't even know what a leash was. And when I adopted him on accident she was very upset because she got so attached to him. I felt bad, but, Charlie was in a house with THIRTY dogs. That's WAAAYYY too many for such a shy little dog. I bet she would be surprised at how his personality has blossomed at being an only dog.

6. Although the application may seem like something you don't need to pay attention to, or just "paperwork", it's actually very important for both parties involved. It let's the adoptee know how serious a rescue you are by the types of questions asked (AKA how much you care) and it let's the adopter get to know the potential adoptee better by the types of answers they give. It gives you a chance to go back over the paperwork if you're a busy rescue to remind you of this person. The more questions you ask the better (but don't go overboard).

Why? I filled out an application that was just a page long with boring questions like my address, name and phone number. The best one I answered was three pages long included necessary information like my address etc, but also had questions like: Had I ever owned a pet before? Why did I want a pet now? Had I ever given a pet away? Why? It was just long enough for me to give informative answers that showed I cared, but not long enough to make me think they didn't want ANYBODY to adopt their animals. Some applications just give you a feeling that they distrust everybody.

7. Home visits. As much as they may be a pain in the butt to organize it's very important. It's actually the only bad thing the rescue I adopted Charlie from did; they never gave a home visit. They just assumed where I lived was ok.

Why? How do you know they have a two acre block fenced yard? How do you know they have a doggie door installed? How do you know they only have one other dog who's 2 years old and perfect? How do you know their kid is perfect with animals? You don't. So be smart and do a probation period with at least two home visits. One at 2 weeks and one at 1 month.

8. Learn to realize that some animals may never find a home. As sad as it may be, just know that the life you gave them is probably 100X better than how they came to you and that whatever happens they are grateful.

9. Don't adopt an animal out to anyone who won't care for the animal better than you did.

10. Listen to your instincts. Even if you can't find a legitimate reason why this person should not have this animal, but you just have a bad feeling then listen to it. Make something up about why the animal can't go to them. That alone could save it's life. Nothing is foolproof. All the questions and applications in the world can't tell you as much as your instincts can.

How We Got Charlie

A few months ago my boyfriend Waylon had to leave for an all night band show. I was home alone and feeling kinda lonely. I was thinking to myself, "It would be great if I had a doggie here to keep me company." After that I couldn't stop thinking about getting a dog. Every time I went over to my parents house and played with their dogs I thought about getting a doggie. When my co-worker brought her uber cute chihuahua to work I thought about getting a doggie.

Suddenly at work I found myself haunting the pages of petfinder.com searching for a little doggie I could rescue. Finally after talking to mom and talking to Waylon I decided to start filling out applications for adopting a dog.

I thought it would be easy, just send in my application and go meet the dog and rescue it.

Man, was I wrong.

The first dog I wanted was already adopted but they didn't update it on the website and it took them almost a week to get back to me through email to tell me, not only that, but that I shouldn't have sent my application to the rescue but to the foster parent. Because, apparently, the foster parent has "first dibs" on whatever dog they're fostering and it's up to them to see if you're a good candidate or not.

Now, this wouldn't have bothered me except that they didn't notify people of this fact on petfinder.com (which hosts several thousands of rescues). It is up to the rescue to provide all the information a potential adoptee needs to know.

So after finding this out I assumed that ALL the rescues on petfinder.com were like this. I assumed correct.

After narrowing my list of doggies to one, I sent my application to one of the foster moms. She got back to me right away saying that my application looked good and was I interested in meeting Calvin next Sunday? I said yes. She said they would be at a Petsmart in north Scottsdale and to meet them there. If Calvin didn't work out for us other people could still look at him she said.

I waited all week to meet Calvin and was very excited. I didn't think I would be adopting him today, I simply thought I would be meeting him and then possibly have another meeting somewhere more private and then we would adopt him.

Waylon came with me, of course, it was important to me that we both met him. When we got to the Petsmart I realized that the rescue was hosting an adoption fair and several of the dogs that were available were there. I met up with the foster mom who held up Calvin. He didn't look like he was having a very good time at all. He was distracted, barking, yipping and growling at every dog who passed by him. He didn't want me or Waylon to hold him and kept trying to jump down. The foster mom was embarrassed saying, "Oh he never barks at home, I don't know what's gotten into him!"

I asked Waylon if he wanted to look around at the other dogs and see if anybody caught our eye. I chatted with the foster mom a bit, letting her get to know me. I assumed if any adoption was to go through a home visit would be included.

Suddenly I noticed a little white doggie sitting very calmly (and nervously) in his cage kind of looking around in awe at the circus around him.

I asked the foster mom, "Who is he? He looks cute..."

Waylon and I agreed that he was very cute. She took him out of the cage. I held him for several minutes. He didn't move away or seem to be aware of me holding him. Waylon held him. He didn't seem to mind Waylon. So we sat down with Waylon still holding him and Darwin began to look sleepy. We look at each other and decided without really saying anything that Darwin was a definite yes.

I called the foster mom over and said, "We like Darwin. How do we go about adopting him?"

She said, "Oh let me get his papers and we'll do it right now."

I was a little surprised, not expecting to adopt a dog today, but why not? Darwin was very shy but calm amid this chaos and was practically falling asleep in Waylon's arms. So, I signed the papers and handed over $150 which included his neutering, shots, and a microchip. After that we bade them goodbye and went shopping around Petsmart for his bed, some toys and nail clippers. I skipped the food aisle altogether because none of it was any good.

In the car he was very good, sleeping in his bed on Waylon's lap. We decided right there that he needed a name change. So we started calling out names, seeing which one we would react to. When I said, "Chaaarlie." He looked up.

And now he is Charlie Longdog Nevarez-Wood.

When we got home that night he didn't really know what to do. He seemed scared of Waylon when Waylon stood up. He kept following me around. And he was VERY hungry. I fed him some Evanger's Turkey Chunk which he snarfed and asked for more. I tried to take him for a walk but he didn't seem to know what a leash was or what to do. All he did was sit down and look around.

Around 10 pm Charlie and I were watching T.V. when the foster mom called me.

"We have a situation," she said. "Darwin was not supposed to be adopted today and his foster mom, who is the founder of this rescue, told her assistant to not let them adopt him out. She only wanted applications to be collected for him. The assistant failed to tell me this and now she's going to be fired! The founder, Deb, wants your phone number so she can talk to you and kind of interview you. Is that okay?"

I said it was fine. Almost ten minutes later Deb calls me and starts asking me questions. After assuring her that I'm a responsible pet owner and know more about animals than most 21 years olds do she said she was very sad to see Darwin leave and to keep in contact with her.

I honestly believe that if I had talked to Deb first about Charlie she would not have adopted him out to me, simply because she was too attached to him. He was living with 30 other dogs and I know that he was not happy. In a strange twist of fate I got Charlie simply by selecting another dog that was wrong.

Today Charlie has learned to love his leash. He loves all manner of squeaky toys and he loves me and Waylon and his favorite thing to do with us is lay on his back and go to sleep in between us while we're watching T.V.

Oh, and he loves Animal Planet as well :]

Good morning All.

The following is a quote out of the introduction section of my aformentioned how-to rescue guide:

"Before we begin let me start by saying a few words about the tendency for people who have taken in homeless animals to immediately ask everyone they know if they would like to take the animal off their hands. I wouldn’t be doing my job thoroughly if I didn’t do my best to explain reasons why this isn’t a good idea. To clarify what I mean by “everyone,” the following applies to those not already involved with rescue or an animal service-related business. Of course, these specific individuals are often approached by people who are actively looking for an animal to add as a family member. Many times that is a good way to hook up those animals in need of a home, and those who are trying to find a good source of where they can find their ideal pet.
However, when people who are not “in the loop” are asked if they would be interested in taking in a homeless animal, the idea is planted by the well-meaning rescuer in the minds of those asked, rather than the reverse; a person asking the rescuer if they know of such an animal being available for adoption. The problem is two-fold in that the person asked may then take pity on the “burdened” person caring for the animal, and also at the same time feel sorry for the animal in question. If this person is then compelled to “help” the rescuer out of this burdened situation, they are likely not ready, nor truly interested in adopting the animal. Though well-intentioned, the adoption is not genuine, and may result in the animal being in a similar predicament that was in originally when it found itself homeless. This person may develop resentment towards this animal. The animal in this case knows quickly it is truly not wanted. It will not behave as well as it would in a truly accepting home. Many times this person will then try to find a way to relieve her/himself of the same burden, often as quickly as possible. Unfortunately in this case the animal may find itself in the local pound more often than not.

Conversely, when someone originally has the idea to want to adopt a homeless animal on their own they are usually actively looking for that special animal. They are also usually prepared to accept such an addition to their lives. They may have already educated themselves about the specific animal. They are likely to have already taken steps to move to an appropriate home that is conducive to co-habitation with the animal they are looking for. They have usually prepared their children, and other family members if any. They are scanning ads, asking people they know who are in animal service-related businesses, and visiting animal-related events. They likely are expecting to be questioned on their animal care skills or experience by the person who currently has their animal. This person is the one you are waiting for to come looking for you and your rescued animal. This person is the one you are preparing your animal and yourself for. This is your true companion to your rescued animal. This person will seek you out, as long as you have the patience to wait for him or her to come knocking at your door."


If anyone has anything to add please feel free to do so.